


you'll freeze out there

by catbeans



Category: Star Wars Episode V: Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: M/M, THAT SCENE
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-24 07:53:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13209306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catbeans/pseuds/catbeans
Summary: Han barely registered the wind biting at his face as he sped out of the base.He could barely see, either, the snow blending in with the sky to leave his whole vision white, squinting against the air and the light glaring off of the snow-covered ice.Of course the standard issue coats were white, he thought bitterly, mistaking a mound of snow for Luke more than once.“I know, I know,” he grit out, putting all his weight into pulling the reins when his Taun Taun tried to turn back. “He can’t be that far, come on.”





	you'll freeze out there

**Author's Note:**

> i saw a post like "where are all the fics of han spooning luke to keep him from freezing to death" and i was like holy shit i havent even done that yet. so i did

Han barely registered the wind biting at his face as he sped out of the base.

He could barely see, either, the snow blending in with the sky to leave his whole vision white, squinting against the air and the light glaring off of the snow-covered ice.

Of course the standard issue coats were  _ white, _ he thought bitterly, mistaking a mound of snow for Luke more than once.

“I know, I know,” he grit out, putting all his weight into pulling the reins when his Taun Taun tried to turn back. “He can’t be that far, come on.”

His hands went numb even through the thick gloves, his fingers frigid and stiff around the reins.

Turning around still didn't even cross his mind.

His head started to hurt from tensing up at the cold, the Taun Taun started to get slower, and he kept going.

He almost looked over another mound of snow, almost indistinguishable from the rest, before he saw a thin piece of fabric billowing in the wind.

_ “Luke!” _

His ankle twisted out from under him when he slid off of the Taun Taun, and he barely registered that either as he dragged his boots through the snow as fast as he could manage.

“Luke, kid, come on.”

“Ben,” Luke groaned, distant and unseeing when Han got to him, brushing the snow from his face as carefully as he could with a wince at the sight of the deep scrapes in his skin. “Yoda--”

“Just me,” Han said, his hands slipping at Luke's shoulders while he tried to pull him upright. “Listen, we gotta--”

The Taun Taun made a sound that made Han’s heart sink into his shoes before it toppled to the ground.

“Shit,” he muttered, pulling the scarf back over Luke's face to keep him as covered as he could.

The shelter was quick, but Luke needed quicker, and Han swore under his breath again when his eyes fell on the lightsaber at Luke's hip.

“This is gonna smell,” he said, even though Luke didn't seem to hear, still slurring about a dead man and a planet Han only vaguely knew of.

His hand suddenly felt warm as the bolt of light extended from the handle, his palm tingling, but he didn't give himself the chance to think about it before slicing into the Taun Taun’s belly.

“And I thought these things smelled bad on the outside…” He pressed the switch on the handle before clipping it back onto Luke's belt and hauling him towards the Taun Taun. “Sorry about this.”

There was a split second when Luke's eyes focused on Han, a flash of relief crossing his face before he looked just as dazed as before.

Han crammed him as deep into the Taun Taun as he could, almost thankful for the burn of the cold to distract him from the stench, the wet sounds of it still making his stomach flip.

“Just give me a minute here,” he mumbled.

The emergency pack was still strapped to the saddle; it took a minute to unstrap the shelter, his hands numb and trembling, almost smacking him in the face when it popped open. It felt like his fingers were about to fall off by the time he got the corners staked deep enough into the ice to stay put in the wind, swearing under his breath as he jammed the emergency beacon into the ice next to the shelter.

He grabbed the sleeping bag, throwing it into the shelter before dragging Luke from the Taun Taun.

_ “Oh, _ that's bad.”

There were flecks of gunk Han didn't want to think about as he swished them off of Luke's coat before pulling the flap shut behind them.

It was still a relief to be able to see Luke's breath.

“Okay, kid, gotta work with me here,” he said, tugging Luke as close as he could to make room to open up the sleeping bag. He was still barely moving, slumping against Han with a faint groan when he tried to wrap it around Luke.

It took a few minutes of shuffling and frustrated swearing before Han managed to fit inside with Luke, both the shelter and the sleeping bag only made for one person, but Luke's face was still so  _ cold, _ Han couldn't have brought himself to care about the uncomfortably tight fit if he tried.

“That's better, yeah?” he murmured, holding Luke close to his chest. “What did you do to that sweet face…”

Luke nuzzled into the thick scarf around Han’s neck with another groan. “Han--”

“Yeah, now you got it,” Han said, kissing the top of his head and rubbing at his shoulders. “Back with me now?”

He waited, but Luke didn't respond, and Han told himself the tight ache in his chest was just from the cold, even if he didn't really believe it.

“How'd you even end up this far away?” Han asked quietly, tensing up against a shiver when Luke's forehead touched his chin, still only starting to warm up from the shelter keeping in what little body heat it felt like they had left. “Not supposed to be all the way out here.”

Luke was still silent and shaking.

“They said the Taun Taun wouldn’t make it, you know,” he continued, trying to distract himself from the shrieking of the wind battering the shelter. “Guess it picked the right time to kick it, huh? Still got me to you.”

Han squeezed his eyes shut and held Luke a little tighter.

“You're gonna be fine,” he said, and then he repeated, more to himself than to Luke, “Okay? You’re gonna be  _ fine.” _

Luke was still breathing; it had to be true.

Han wasn't going to accept anything less.

Time dragged out glacially slow, each second feeling like an hour before Luke finally shifted again, pulling in a deep, shaky breath.

“Han?”

“Yeah,” he said, trying not to grin when he kissed the top of his head again. “Yeah, it’s me.”

“I thought--” Luke started, his voice cracking and rough. “I thought I was--”

Han interrupted him before he could say the last few words that he didn't think he could manage hearing. “Yeah, well, you're not.”

Luke didn't respond, but Han felt him nod, and that was enough for him then.

It was another few minutes before Luke said anything else, still shivering so much Han thought he might fall apart.

“Hey,” Luke mumbled eventually, palming down Han’s sides until he found some pockets to stick his hands in. “Can’t say it’s for the money this time.”

Han could see his breath a little less than before when he huffed a laugh. “Guess not.”

Luke's face still didn't feel much warmer when his forehead bumped Han’s chin again.

“Are you warming up at all?”

Luke grunted and pressed himself impossibly closer to Han. “Better than outside.”

“That’s not saying a lot.” Han paused, biting at his lip for a second before he said, “I think I got an idea.”

Han had almost forgotten the holovid he had seen ages back, tipsy and bored and killing time with a cheesy survival documentary that had looked more than a little staged, but he hadn't forgotten laughing with Chewie at the two leads stripping out of their coats to stay  _ warm, _ of all things, how is that supposed to work--

If he wasn't feeling any heat from Luke through their coats, Luke couldn't be either.

“Do you think you can get your coat off?”

_ “What--?” _

“You're not warming up on your own,” Han said, tugging the top of the sleeping bag a little higher. “This is keeping the heat in.”

Luke hesitated for a second. “I don't know if I  _ can.” _

“I got it,” Han said, reluctantly moving his arms from around Luke's shoulders.

There wasn't enough room in the sleeping bag to get Luke's coat off without knocking into each other a couple times, his hands still too numb to keep from fumbling until Luke was finally down to a shirt and sweater.

“Alright, turn over.”

Luke rolled onto his other side, his back to Han’s chest; Han opened the front of his coat to tuck around Luke, Luke's coat covering his front, bundling Luke snug to his chest.

“Better?”

Luke nodded with a low hum.

Han moved his hands up to cover Luke's, rubbing his thumb over Luke's knuckles. “Are the gloves doing anything?”

Luke shrugged.

“Can you hold your hands out?”

Luke numbly stretched out his fingers, biting back a wince when Han took his gloves off to pull over Luke's.

“Okay?”

Luke nodded. “Just really stiff.”

Han tried not to put too much thought into that when he covered Luke's hands with his own again.

“It's gonna be fine,” Han said. “Got that beacon up and everything, they'll get you good as new.”

Luke was quiet for a minute before mumbling a soft, “Yeah.”

Han held onto him a little tighter, and he wished he had something to say to fill the silence with other than the shrieking of the wind around them.

Luke beat him to it after a while. “How did you find me?”

“Just got lucky,” Han said. “Didn’t make it easy for me, though, whoever decided those coats should be white was a dumbass.”

Luke's shoulders shook with a laugh that made Han’s chest feel almost warm.

“You always come back,” Luke murmured a few minutes later, a little distant again, stiffly moving his hands to hold Han’s.

“Yeah, you're stuck with me.”

“Yeah,” Luke mumbled, almost too quiet to hear over the wind, holding Han’s hands close to his face.

“Hey,” Han said after a minute, squeezing his arms around Luke. “How'd you end up all the way out here?”

Luke shrugged with a noncommittal grumble.

“Nah, come on, talk to me.” He could still feel Luke breathing, but he sounded so far away. “What happened?”

“I dunno what it was,” Luke said quietly. “It was in a cave.”

“What was in the cave?”

“It was big,” Luke mumbled. “Hungry.”

Han bit the inside of his cheek. “Only one who gets to eat you is me.”

Han almost couldn't see Luke's breath anymore when he laughed.

“How'd you get out?”

“Lightsaber,” Luke slurred. “I cut myself down.”

“Down from what?”

Luke shrugged again and held Han’s hands a little tighter. “The ceiling.”

“The  _ ceiling?” _

Luke nodded.

“What the hell kinda day are you having,” Han mumbled, kissing the back of his head. 

“You always come back,” Luke repeated.

“Yeah, you got me hooked.”

Luke was quiet for a minute, but Han could feel him rubbing his thumbs over his knuckles.

“What’s that smell?”

Han snorted. “You, mostly.”

“Wh--?”

“Had to stick you in a Taun Taun while I got this thing set up.”

Luke groaned and held Han’s hands over his nose. “It’s  _ so bad.” _

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Han couldn't help smiling into Luke's hair. “Gonna get you a nice warm shower when you get back.”

Luke hummed and kissed Han’s palm.

“Good thing you don't have to clean a lightsaber, right?”

“Ugh.” Luke shuddered. “You had to…?”

“Yup.”

_ “Ugh.” _

“I know,” Han said. “Might want to wipe down the handle, though.”

“That’s so gross,” Luke mumbled.

“I’ll do it for you.”

Han could feel Luke smile against his thumb. “Thank you.”

“Don't mention it.”

“Thank you for coming out for me,” Luke said quietly.

Han took a deep breath and pressed his face into Luke's hair. “Don't mention it.”

 

Han thought he was imagining it at first when his com started frantically beeping at him.

“Oh, shit,” he muttered to himself, wincing at the stiffness in his arm when he moved it from around Luke's shoulders to reach into his pocket.

Luke made a soft frustrated sound like he was woken up too early while Han responded, the crackling of the com making his skull itch.

“Hey, kid.” He gently shook Luke's shoulder. “With me?”

Luke grumbled again with a nod that almost hit the back of his head against Han’s nose.

“We’re in the clear,” Han said. “They found us, we’re getting back.”

“They found us,” Luke repeated in a desperate whisper.

“Yeah,” Han said encouragingly, kissing the back of his neck. “You think you can get up?”

Luke groaned and buried his face in the hood of his coat.

“Come on, turn around, I’ll help you get that on. We gotta go.”

 

Han hadn't gotten a good look at Luke until he was suspended in the Bacta tank, the snow clouding his vision and the shelter too dim to see much; he had felt like crawling out of his skin when he had been wheeled away from Luke as soon as they got back to base, his argument going unheard through the droid telling him he needed to be treated for hypothermia.

Seeing it made his insides ache more than the cold ever could have.

Luke looked so small in the tank, covered in tubes and darkening bruises and deep gashes on his face that only looked worse without the snow blurring everything in sight.

He couldn't bring himself to look for more than a couple seconds until the tank was drained and Luke was bundled up in a bed, the details of the last night still foggy from the mild concussion after falling from the ceiling of whatever cave he had ended up in.

“That’s two you owe me now,” Han said, and Luke just smiled like he knew exactly how much of a cover it was.

Han would always come back for him, and it looked like he knew it just as much as Han did.

**Author's Note:**

> @hansolosbi!


End file.
